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Marvel: 2010-06-27 - Fishing for Trouble
According to some of Raven's sources, there's a small row house in one particular Brooklyn neighborhood serving as a safehouse for what can only be described as a rather violent anti-mutant group, responsible for the hospitalization of two young men after beating them with baseball bats. Knowing that the case is likely somewhere near the bottom of a pile of cases for some overworked officer who is probably inclined to believe the victims were provoking the group, she's decided to take matters into her own hands. In the form of a young, fragile-looking woman with bluish-grey skin and white hair, she's slowly meandering through the streets, hoping to provoke them into attacking. Unlike their last victims, she's not nearly as helpless as she looks. Jeremy is lurking along the sidewalks and side streets of that particular area of Brooklyn. It isn't completely by chance. He's seen the news, he's read the papers. The FOH has made themselves known and the young man is anything but fine with that. Currently he isn't seeking out the members themselves, but the posters and fliers they've been spreading all over the city. He's already found about three, and has ripped them off the walls and posts he's discovered them upon. It's still light out so he's keeping his scarf and hoodie up to help hide his freakish appearance. He pauses at a wooden fence blocking an alleyway and rips off another anti-mutant poster. He grumbles as he shreds the glossy paper into confetti. "They're everywhere now, aren't they?" says the young woman, who looks to be all of sixteen, if that. Her voice is quiet, and sounds about as fragile as she looks. Her mutation seems to have resulted in her looking rather gaunt. She's nearly alien-looking, really. The gills on her neck that puff out a bit when she speaks add to her otherworldlyness. "I had to leave school after kids there started handing them out." Jeremy urks! he was so focused on the poster that he didn't even hear the girl wander close. He looks down, his head tilting. His eyes are hidden behind reflective wrap around glasses, but chances are they've widened. ".. .. yea it seems so.." he says in a surprisingly gentle tone. ".. I didn't even try to go after I started looking really funky.. yer way brave.. " he says as he studies her unique traits. The color of the skin, the fish like gills. "It happened slowly for me. When I just had gills, I wore a lot of scarves," she explains. "But then my friend Madisson saw them and..." she shrugs a little. "Well. She wasn't my friend after that. It got around." She blinks, with two sets of eyelids. Yep, someone got hit with the mutation shortstick. "If I had any cool powers, it might have made it a little easier. All I can do is swim underwater, and that's not really useful in New York. I got really sick after trying it in the Hudson." She looks up at him again. "Do you live near here?" she asks of him. Jeremy's ears and whiskers droop at the girl's tale. "... I know another girl like that.." he says. Maybe that'd make this gal feel better? He tries to sound encouraging. "She's got scales too.. " he murmurs. "Swimmin' can be really cool...The whole ocean is out there... it ain't all polluted up..right?" he reaches up to scratch at the back of his neck. Darn fleas! "Saltwater kinda messes me up a little. But sometimes I go anyway," she admits with a bit of a smile. Then there's the sound of voices and approaching footsteps. "I dunno man, the last one didn't look too big, but he had those freaky powers! What if she does too." It takes every ounce of self control Mystique has not to smile. Instead, she looks scared. "Quick, hide!" she tells her newfound friend. And just as she tries to dash between two groups of townhouses, a hand clamps onto her shoulder. Jeremy urks and then glowers as the fish gal gets grabbed by the people who've just sauntered forth. "Hey, leggo o' her.." he grumbles out, moving immediately to push the guy away. He may hide his form, but he only does so to avoid making trouble. If it finds him? all bets are off! The group are brandishing baseball bats. "Aw, shit..." says one of them, sizing up their new opponent. They hadn't been expecting to face off against someone who might be able to actually /defend/ themselves! They look at each other, trying to decide if they should run or not. After a few seconds of silent deliberation, they go for that option, and take off. Now, Mystique /would/ be more annoyed, if she hadn't just found a potential recruit. The girl looks up at him and smiles. "I think you scared them off." She suppresses a giggle, then looks thoughtful for a second. "Hey, do you have somewhere you're staying?" she wonders. Jeremy almost runs after them. When things run away he feels a very strong urge to chase after. Fortunately he holds back on that particular impulse and stands where he is. Truth be told he is frankly surprised they gave up so easily. Especially after the weirdness of the other night. "Damn...I didn't even have to growl.." he sounds rather disappointed. He grins and shrugs at the girl. "... ah.. well.. I got a few spots I hang at.." he says, itching again at his side. "You got a pen and paper, or a cell phone or something?" she asks. "There's this place I go sometimes, when I need somewhere safe. It's just for mutants," she tells him. "I'm Nix, by the way. You can tell them I sent you." Nix. A shapeshifting water-spirit. Fitting. Jeremy tilts his head. Nix? like a Nixie? he half smirks. ".. I got a disposable cell yea.. " and he fumbles around in to some pockets to find a pencil. "... is it like one o' them halfway houses?" he asks. "I dunno.. I'm doing okay... " he says, just a touch of paranoia creeping into his thoughts. "You don't live there all the time? why not?" "I check up on my mom a lot. I lived with her until the neighbors started to harass us. I ran away after we moved so she could be safe," she admits. "She's in Hoboken, so I'm in Jersey a lot," she explains. "I come out here when I can afford a train ticket." She laughs, and takes one of the anti-mutant posters, and finds a pen of her own, writing down the address for him on that. "Now it has something /useful/ on it," she says, and grins. "It's not really a halfway house. They're a little more... proactive than that," she tells him. Jeremy leans his back against a wall as she explains. He grins too under his scarf at her joke. He carefully takes the page and peers at the address. "..mmm.. okay.. well.. mebbe I'll drop by some time.. " he says as he studies her face. He's started to realize that he can't sense much from her and it's seriously making it hard to read her. "So how exactly are they.. proactive huh? like rippin' up posters... or what ? protestin'? greenpeace?" he grins wryly. "A little more than that," she says. "Like... If they knew about those guys that were gonna jump me? They'd definitely be sending someone out who could actually fight back, for one," she says. "I hear they might have some connection to Magneto, but I dunno about that." Jeremy arches a brow behind his glasses. "... mmm well they probably deserved a beatin'... trollin' fer trouble like that.." he grunts. As for Magneto? he isn't quite sure what he's read about that fellow. The net is full of rumors, most of which the feral is certain aren't true. "..don' really know much about him.. not anythin' certain.. " he murmurs. "Yeah, I'm not too sure either... but the way I figure it, the all the news people say he's evil and stuff, but they feel the same way about /all/ mutants," she says. "I think people just talk about him because he's one of the few people who'll admit publicly to it, and actually tries to do something to help us," says the girl, and shrugs. There's just a touch of admiration in her voice, as if she's trying to hide the fact that she really, really looks up to him. Raven can feel Magneto's ego swelling a little, just from her talking about him like that and she wants to almost laugh. But he /is/ the figurehead for their cause, so playing up his image is part of her job. Jeremy's brow arches up. "So.. what have you heard.. I mean that the news ain't sayin'? " he asks as he scritches again at his side and waist. "I mean, I'm sure half o' it is human paranoia.. an' every one knows history is written by the side that's in control.. or who's got the money." he smirks, shaking his head. "Like, what is he doin'? what is this.. ah.. group? doin' to help him? " "I'm not sure, I don't really get to spend enough time there," she admits, and shrugs. "I just heard a rumor that they have some connection. But I guess their philosophies are kind of the same, you know? That mutants shouldn't have to just take all this abuse and wait until humans decide to give us our rights, that we should be fighting for them, standing up for ourselves." Jeremy nods slowly as the girl describes things a bit more. "That doesn't sound too bad.." he says after considering things for a few silent moments. "It'd be nice to see that actually.. instead o' just those people who were human and got nuked bein' all buddy buddy with the news an everything.. " he snorts. Is he a bit bitter about that? Seems so. "Like another civil rights movement.. " he grins behind his scarf. " "A civil rights movement with super-powers," she adds, smiling. "Might as well use all the resources we have, right?" says Nix, who stops for a moment with a slight frown. "I should get back to the place I'm staying tonight. I got enough money together to get a motel room for a while. I need to get into the bathtub, or I'll start getting all dehydrated," she admits, a little sheepishly, maybe even a touch embarrassed. "It was nice meeting you, thanks for the help with those jerks," she says. "Maybe I'll see you around, if you check out that address?" Jeremy nods to the girl. He falls silent again, pondering. "Ya want me to ah, walk ya there.. well like half way there.. if that.. doesn't sound too weird?" he says trailing off. He doesn't want her to get into trouble after just avoiding it! "Sure. It's just a couple blocks away." Thankfully, she does have enough cash on her in order to rent a room. "They're actually not too bad about renting out to mutants. I think the guy that owns it might be one." She knows this because... well. She owns it. One of her many go-to designated "safe" places. "Well, that and a few of the... uh. Girls that frequent it are too. There's apparently something of a trade for that." For every angry, hateful mob, there's a handful of fetishists. Raven still isn't sure which is worse. Jeremy perks up. "oh..." he says. He's been staying at a variety of places, under bridges, in foreclosed homes, the occasional place that charges by the hour. "Well.. yea, that happens..." he murmurs out, his nose blushing bright pink. Thankfully that's quite hidden by the scarf. "IT's safe then? I mean, no one is forcin'..those.. aum.. girls.. to do that.. right?" he asks. "I'm not sure. I guess it varies by the girl, just like with humans doing that kind of thing," she says a little sadly. "I think maybe less so with the mutant ones, since they've usually got some built-in way to protect themselves. Even I have this," she says, and holds her hand out for a moment, and a small barb of bone protrudes from her wrist. "Once a day or so, I can load one of these up with this weird poison that apparently hurts like hell once it's in the bloodstream. I just... don't really like using it, you know? It also kinda hurts when the barb breaks off." She pushes it back under her skin. Jeremy nods along and feels a lot better when he sees the girl isn't completely without defense. "... yea.. I guess it would.. that just sucks.." he murmurs regarding the working girls. He follows her along as they move towards the previously mentioned motel. "Does it always break off? Like a bee's sting?" he asks, his voice softly concerned. He looks back up then, taking a moment to study and search their surroundings while they travel before putting his attention back on Nix. Nix nods. "Yeah, but as long as I eat enough, I can usually produce another one in a day or so," she says. "I still haven't figured out if they're actually bone, or more like nails and hair. So I take both calcium and keratin supplements after using one, since I'm not sure which would help more." She looks a little sheepish again. "I was in honors biology before I dropped out." Jeremy looks highly fascinated! "That's probably a really good idea.." he murmurs and removes his glasses as it starts to get darker so he can see better. He puts them into his hoodie's front pocket. ".. school was.. interestin'.. My dad was home schooling me.. " he murmurs quietly "I liked reading up on all that kinda stuff. " he admits. Then he asks. "Are those ah, stings the only thing that regenerate? " Nix nods. "Yeah, unfortunately. I kinda got the mutation short stick. No extra strength- maybe even a little less than normal people, and unless I'm in water, I can't move really fast. I've heard of people who could shrug off bullets and stuff, I just can't drown, as long as the water's got oxygen in it. But I guess that's something, right?" Jeremy tilts his head. "It ain't a short stick.. There's more to life than bein' a brick.." he says. Then again he is a brick. "Sides, there are tons o' folks who'd be all about bein' able to breath water.. I saw something on the net a few weeks ago about a girl who built herself a mermaid tail.. I'd bet she'd trade anythin' for your gills." he grins. "Besides when ya shrug off bullets.. ya gotta eat like .. a horse a day.. " he says, sounding perhaps a little frustrated by that fact. "Yeah, I guess," she says, and nods a little. "Ah, there's the motel. Thanks again, hopefully I'll see you around sometime soon," she tells him, and gives him another smile. "And hopefully in a nicer situation." Jeremy grins back at her and after glancing over the area to ensure that no one is going to bother her the rest of the way there he says "Yea.. sure thing.. I think I'll check out that address.. I'll see ya around.. " he says and begins to move off when he remembers.. "Oh.. and you can call me Prowl.." he gives a wave and continues on to move off. The talk of food has made him hungry, it's time to go hunt down some dinner. The FOH posters can wait.